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Warehouse sale a no-go this spring
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Times photo file Shoppers wait in line to get into The Swiss Colony 2008 Warehouse Sale. The sale, which has brought thousands of shoppers to Monroe each spring for 35 years, will not be held this year. The sale offered the company a way to reduce overstocked items after the Christmas season.
MONROE - Better business practices at The Swiss Colony in Monroe is going to disappoint shoppers waiting for the company's after-Christmas warehouse sale this year.

After more than 35 years, the company will not be offering its annual bonanza of overstocked cheeses, meats, petit fours and household items at greatly reduced prices.

The surplus of inventory is way down this year, thanks in part to a more accurate prediction of sales.

"The cancellation of the warehouse sale is actually a very positive result of initiatives on behalf of several departments, with a little good luck as well. We think that there will probably be a need for a sale next year, however," said Vice President Gene Curran.

In the past, the annual sale offered the company a means to reduce its excess inventory.

But, as if an extension of its motto "Sharing Holiday Moments for Generations," the opening of The Swiss Colony Warehouse Sale in Monroe had become a spring tradition for bargains hunters, attracting thousands of shoppers each year, some from as far away as Missouri.

Much of the surplus the company does have this year is being donated to a variety of non-profit organizations and charitable groups.

One example is the 500 blankets and "snuggies" recently donated to EMT groups, First Responders, rescue squads and fire departments in Green County and surrounding areas.

These public services keep the blankets on hand for use in emergency situations, such as accidents and fires.

Shoppers who can't wait until next year for the warehouse bargains can find much of The Swiss Colony merchandise, at 20 to 80 percent off catalog prices, at the company's Monroe Outlet Center.

But it's not like waiting in line at the warehouse in the cold spring rain.